Brussels, 09/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has cleared the purchase by Dow Chemical Co (United States) of the polyurethane business of Enichem SpA (Italy). The operation consists of an exchange of assets between Dow and Enichem and arises from a commitment given by Dow in order to obtain regulatory approval in the European Union for its acquisition of Union Carbide (UCC). Dow committed itself to divest to an independent purchaser UCC's 50% stake in Polimeri Europa Srl, a joint venture it had with Enichem. Enichem will now acquire UCC's stake in Polimeri and in return Dow will acquire Enichem's polyurethane business (see EUROPE of 5 May 2000, p. 13). The Commission ruled that the acquisition would not lead to dominance by Dow given the significant presence of important competitors such as Bayer, Lyondell, Huntsmann, Shell, BP and BASF.
Separately, the Commission also cleared under the simplified procedure Enichem's full control of Polimeri, which was also notified.